ABCD later changed its name to the Computing Technology Industry Association. The new name clearly reflected the association’s evolving role in the computer industry and in the U.S. business landscape at large. The nineties were a period of extensive growth for the association as it broadened the scope of its activities to address the needs of the ever‐expanding computer industry. Its initiatives increased to include the networking, UNIX, imaging, mobile computing, and multimedia arenas. In an effort to monitor and take positions on public policy issues, the association added a full‐time Director of Public Policy position.

Currently, it is known as a provider of professional certifications for the information technology (IT) industry. CompTIA chairs and manages the Initiative for Software Choice.

CompTIA A+

The A+ certification demonstrates competency as a computer technician. Officially, CompTIA A+ certification is a vendor neutral certification, that covers numerous technologies and operating systems from such vendors as Microsoft, Apple Inc., Novel and some of the Linux variations. Wikibooks has a book on the topic of
A+ Certification

The CompTIA A+ certification exam was developed in 1993. There have been three versions of the A+ exam, the 1993 objectives, the 2003 objectives and the 2006 objectives, which are both broken down into two separate exams; however, the 2003 objectives exam was retired on June 30, 2007. The 2003 objectives contained the A+ Core Hardware Exam and the A+ Core Operating System Technologies Exam. The 2006 objectives require that a candidate successfully pass the A+ Essentials and one elective: IT technician, remote support technician, or depot technician.

The A+ exam is intended for information technology professionals who have the equivalent of 500 hours of hands on experience. The exams are computer based and composed of multiple choice questions, of which there may be more than one correct answer. Over 800,000 people have earned the A+ credential worldwide, to date.

Topics of the Core examination include IRQs, direct memory access, and practical computer repair, including the installation and repair of hard drives, modems, network cards, CPUs, power supplies, printers, and so forth. The focus of the exam is not theory, but practice. Sometimes graphics are used in exam questions. Topics included in the Operating Systems Exam include memory management, configuration files, and historical operating environments rather than newer, cutting edge technologies.

In September 2006, the CompTIA A+ test online a+ course was updated so that the test taker must take the CompTIA A+ Essentials (220-601) test along with one of three other tests (220-602, 220-603, or 220-604). Each of these elective exams offers the candidate the opportunity to specialize their A+ certification to match their desired career path.

With the introduction of the 2006 A+ exam, candidates were offered a grace period whereby both the 2003 and 2006 versions were available. As of June 2007, the 2003 version of exams is no longer available in the United States. In some countries, the grace period was extended to December 2007. The 2003 version was also extended in cases where the A+ certification exam was included in a course of study. Also, most legacy support questions have been excluded.

The A+ certification may be used to qualify as an elective for Microsoft’s MCSA and MCSE certification.

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In companies, it refers to the strategies that use the company network to deliver training courses to employees. In the United States, it is defined as a planned teaching/learning experience that uses a wide spectrum of technologies, mainly Internet or computer-based, to reach learners. Lately in most Universities, e-learning is used to define a specific mode to attend a course or programmes of study where the students rarely, if ever, attend face-to-face for on-campus access to educational facilities, because they study online.

By 2006, nearly 3.5 million students were participating in on-line learning at institutions of higher education in the United States. Many higher education, for-profit institutions, now offer on-line classes. By contrast, only about half of private, non-profit schools offer them. The Sloan report, based on a poll of academic leaders, says that students generally appear to be at least as satisfied with their on-line classes as they are with traditional ones.

Private institutions may become more involved with online computer training presentations as the cost of instituting such a system decreases. Properly trained staff must also be hired to work with students on-line. These staff members need to understand the content area, and also be highly trained in the use of the computer and Internet. Online education is rapidly increasing, and online doctoral programs have even developed at leading research universities.

Goals of e-learning

E-Learning lessons are generally designed to guide students through information or to help students perform in specific tasks. Information based e-Learning content communicates information to the student. Examples include content that distributes the history or facts related to a service, company, or product. In information-based content, there is no specific skill to be learned. In performance-based content, the lessons build off of a procedural skill in which the student is expected to increase proficiency.

Computer-based learning

Computer Based Learning, sometimes abbreviated to CBL, refers to the use of computers as a key component of the educational environment. While this can refer to the use of computers in a classroom, the term more broadly refers to a structured environment in which computers are used for teaching purposes. The concept is generally seen as being distinct from the use of computers in ways where learning is at least a peripheral element of the experience (e.g. computer games and web browsing).

Computer-based training

Computer-based training (CBT) services are where a student learns by executing special training programs on a computer relating to their occupation. CBT is especially effective for training people to use computer applications because the CBT program can be integrated with the applications so that students can practice using the application as they learn. Historically, CBTs growth has been hampered by the enormous resources required: human resources to create a CBT program, and hardware resources needed to run it.

However, the increase in PC computing power, and especially the growing prevalence of computers equipped with CD-ROMs, is making CBT a more viable option for corporations and individuals alike. Many PC applications now come with some modest form of CBT, often called a tutorial. Web-based training (WBT) is a type of training that is similar to CBT; however, it is delivered over the Internet using a web browser.

Web-based training frequently includes interactive methods, such as bulletin boards, chat rooms, instant messaging, videoconferencing, and discussion threads. Web based training is usually a self-paced learning medium though some systems allow for online testing and evaluation at specific times. Recent years have seen an explosion in online training for educators by content providers such as Knowledge Delivery Systems, Atomic Learning, PBS Teacherline, and more.

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A hard inquiry occurs when you seek to obtain credit. This happens when you apply for a loan or credit card, for example. Each time you fill out a credit card application at a department store, the inquiry counts as a hard inquiry. Only you can authorize a creditor to perform a hard inquiry on your credit report.

A prospective lender or other creditor will likely be concerned with an applicant whose credit report shows a high volume of hard inquiries. That’s because it suggests a carefree attitude in applying for credit or an effort to borrow excessively.

Borrowing too much — a situation called over-leveraging — is a potential red flag for creditors. It signals you may face more difficulty in repaying your debts in cash-strapped times than a person who judiciously applies for credit. If you’re going to ping your credit report with frequent hard inquiries, it may be best to concentrate them around the time you apply for a home or auto loan.

Fair Isaac, which designs credit-scoring software and sells consumers copies of their credit scores, suggests that your credit score is less likely to be impacted by a concentration of hard inquiries around such circumstances.

A soft inquiry is one where the inquiry is not tallied on your credit report. A soft inquiry does not constitute a bona fide request for credit. For example, a soft inquiry occurs when you obtain a copy of your report.

A soft inquiry also occurs when a company gathers potential marketing information about you based on your credit report. You can opt out of these kinds of inquiries. The Fair Credit Reporting Act entitles you to contact each or all of the major credit bureaus and request them to stop sending you card solicitations and related offers. For more information, call 888-5OPTOUT (567-8688).

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